Iran’s parliament approves on Sunday the general principles of a bill that would criminalise interviews and other communications with media described as hostile to the Islamic Republic, according to Shargh newspaper. The bill would cover outlets including US or Israeli media and media financed by either country.
Parliament’s judicial and legal commission member Osman Salari says the bill’s individual provisions are not yet debated or approved. He tells Mizan news agency that details reported so far should not be treated as final. Under the proposal, interviews or participation in discussions with such media would be banned, with violations punishable by six months to two years in prison.
For other foreign media, the bill would require prior notification to Iran’s intelligence ministry. Contact with foreign embassies, offices of foreign organisations, or other non-Iranian institutions without notification and written permission from the foreign ministry would be punishable by a fine and deprivation of certain social rights. Al-Monitor and Middle East Eye both report the same step—approval of general principles—before further parliamentary review.
